Imelda May at the Marquee, Cork, 21 June 2014

The Marquee was lepping for this gig. Lepping, that is, with a great degree of polite restraint. It was hard to find a soul under the age of 35 among the crowd, except for the odd 12-year-old girl that had been allowed to stay up late to see the face of the Credit Union, Imelda May, do her thing in a live setting.

What her thing is, is relatively straight forward. It’s a modern take on  ’50s rockabilly that has the soccer moms – and even some soccer nanas – bopping along like they have never bopped before, not even at a Daniel O’ Donnell gig.

Maybe it’s the ‘An Evening with Gaybo’ effect but if this gig proves anything, it’s that the older generation are getting cooler.

Some snobs have pointed out that May’s adoption of the Rockabilly style and music is slightly contrived, but the fact of the matter is that her voice is utterly suited to its peaks and troughs, between high octane Eddie Cochran style numbers to the slower Vera Lynne like efforts. Also, it’s evident that she is in total and utter love with her music.

From a muso’s perspective, her band is a stunning proposition in a live setting. The double bass and trumpet are relics revitalised and the guitar acrobatics of May’s husband, Darrel Higham, scorch every single bar.

Material from her 2008 album ‘Love Tattoo’ was best received with Johnny Got A Boom Boom and Big Bad Handsome Man predictably receiving the most rapturous applause, but new single It’s Good To Be Alive  is set to make its way onto her list of radio smash hits.

Pleasing the casual radio listener is something altogether different to musical credibility, but that was found in abundance here too. Wild Woman and Mayhem are grittier live than their studio versions, with the Gretch guitar amped up and thud busting drums coming alive.

These songs owe as much to the Clash as they do to the advent of Rock n Roll but there’s a sense that they could be expanded and drawn into more conjectural territory at times.

Still though, the people came to hear the hits as they know them and that’s what they got.

One of the defining moments of May’s recent career was her performance at the Royal Albert Hall for President Higgins’ visit to the UK.

There, the contrast between Lisa Hannigan’s soft and gentle timbre and May’s booming bellows during a rendition of The Auld Traingle was fascinating. In Cork, she didn’t disappoint. All night she screamed and whooped without a break, her remarkable vocal range stretched to the limit and constantly explosive.

Kentish Town Waltz had the crowd swaying in unison, it was a lighter in the air moment and May’s song writing versatility ensured the show was never boring.

Just when you thought she’d played all her cards, back she came for the encore and as a sole ukulele echoed around the circus tent for Clew Bay, the pipe band from that very Mayo town join her on-stage.

Full of bonhomie, her adoring fans made their way, politely, out into the balmy Cork air. May can do no wrong right now and you get the feeling that her streak is set to continue for some considerable time.